WEST LAFAYETTE – Antoine Miles has been a versatile and important piece to Purdue’s defense this season.

End. Linebacker. Tackle. Line Miles up and watch him make a play. Remember the two sacks at Iowa?

He’s made enough plays to earn the trust of co-defensive coordinator Nick Holt and the rest of the staff and is expected to contribute when the Boilermakers face Arizona in Wednesday’s Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif.

But this isn’t a story as much about what Miles has accomplished on the field. It’s about what nearly happened off the field, prior to the start of the season.

The Ohio native faced the prospect of not even joining this year’s team. No one’s fault but Miles. He admits it. He owns it. Miles offers an honest assessment of his situation, recognizing his own shortcomings when it comes to the classroom and academics.

“The lesson — take care of your business,” Miles said. “I laugh and I smile about it now and through my time here I’ve learned a lot of lessons. I’ve always been a guy that’s struggled with — and this is just me being honest — I struggled with disciplinary issues.

“I’ve been fortunate to get multiple chances by each coaching staff that has been here. They’ve given me chance after chance. Finally, I learned this is what needs to be done. It took a long time. It finally came together.”

Miles now has his degree after going through graduation ceremonies earlier this month and he’s part of a team and program headed to a bowl game after a long dry spell. He’s thankful coach Jeff Brohm and the assistant coaches afforded him the opportunity to stay on the team, even when it didn’t appear possible.

“I can’t say the words how grateful I am. I’m extremely grateful. It was scary,” Miles said. “After the spring is when I first found out. I didn’t know if I was going to be here or not.

“From the summer and the whole end of the spring all the way up to the start of camp, coming to workouts, lifts, and film and not knowing if I’m going to actually be there. What if I don’t make it?”

Back in August, Miles spent most of the practices working out as a backup. If Miles wasn’t going to be around when first-semester classes started, no need to get the Canton, Ohio native involved with the first-team defense.

Once Miles was in the clear academically — he said the issue involved a sign language class — Holt began implementing the plan to utilize him.

Holt sees similar characteristics in Miles and Danny Ezechukwu, who moved to the hybrid defensive end position from linebacker when the new coaching staff took over. Both can rush the passer standing up or with their hand in the ground.

Miles has enough athletic ability to move from side to side or drop into pass coverage. But Holt wanted to highlight Miles’ ability to rush the passer in his aggressive and attacking scheme.

“He’s naturally a good pass rusher. That’s his forte,” Holt said. “He’s a good enough athlete to do something and that’s why we’ve kept on developing him. He’s gotten more reps and his playing time has increased and he’s taken advantage of it.”

Miles has totaled 15 tackles in 11 games. The Iowa game was big for Miles, who collected a total of four tackles — all for loss — in one afternoon. He’s been able to make plays because of the attention paid to Purdue’s defensive line and other linebackers — Ja’Whaun Bentley, Markus Bailey and T.J. McCollum.

“He’s been doing a good job,” McCollum said. “Since Day 1, I knew he was explosive since I saw him in spring practice. He comes out of his hips, he comes out of his stance really good and he’s got a great get-off. Great pass rusher and being inside, just exploding off guys and be able to handle the big guys.”

The most important thing for Miles was handling his business off the field, which has translated to finishing his career in a bowl game, along with the rest of the senior class.

“I’m waiting for the bowl game. It’s a milestone. It’s something I take pride in and the family is proud of me for it,” he said. “It was a long road, a tough road but at the end of the day, I’m proud of myself for being able to make it to this point.”